


Timer

by omgjasminesimone



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24205603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omgjasminesimone/pseuds/omgjasminesimone
Summary: In an alternate universe where most people get a timer installed on their wrist, which counts down to when you see your soulmate.
Relationships: Bryce Lahela/Main Character (Open Heart), Rafael Aveiro/Main Character (Open Heart)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Timer

Casey wakes to Rafael’s alarm. He quickly silences it before rolling over to press a lazy kiss to her lips. “Hey, I gotta go to work, but stay as long as you want.” He tells her quietly, kissing her one more time before leaving the bed.

“Have a good day!” She calls after him before he leaves the room, and he shoots her a grateful smile before closing the bedroom door behind him.

Casey yawns, glancing at Rafael’s clock. 4:30 AM. Rafael’s schedule as a paramedic is even crazier than her’s as a resident physician. Instinctively, Casey glances at her wrist before closing her eyes and snuggling back into Raf’s pillow. Her timer is still blank.

…

“You know, I think I’m gonna get a timer.” Rafael announces weeks later over dinner.

Casey looks up from the delicious Pão de Queijo Rafael made from scratch. “What? Why?!” She whines.

Rafael quirks a brow. “…I thought you’d be excited. Maybe I’m your soulmate.”

Casey sighs. “Why should we let some timer made by a for profit company tell us who our soulmate is? Am I the only one who realizes how crazy that is?!”

“It’s scientifically proven though. It says so on their website.” Rafael insists.

Casey rolls her eyes. “That’s what they want everyone to think. It’s definitely a scam. They have complete market control and they’ve got it set up to peer pressure everyone into getting one, if you want to meet your soulmate. Like there’s only one person out there for everyone. Give me a break. I tried to tell my mom this, but she cried until I agreed to have it installed on my 18th birthday.”

Rafael reaches for her hand. “Casey, I feel like I need to do this. I really like you. These past 6 months with you have been some of the best months of my life. I’m confident our timers will go off if I get mine installed. Wouldn’t you rather know for sure?” Rafael presses.

Casey realizes she’s not going to be able to get him to change his mind on this. And…even though she really doesn’t believe in the timer or in soulmates…maybe he’s right? She could picture Rafael as her soulmate, if such a thing really exists. She squeezes his hand. “Okay. Let’s find out.”

….

Casey closes the door to her apartment, letting out a despondent sigh.

“Casey? Is that you? I thought you were staying over at Rafael’s?” Her roommate Sienna calls from the couch.

Casey drags herself across the room, collapsing onto the couch and resting her head in Sienna’s lap. “Rafael got his timer installed. It says he’ll see his soulmate in a week. Mine still hasn’t turned on.”

Sienna runs her hand through Casey’s curls comfortingly. “Oh Casey, I’m so sorry.”

“I wanted to keep dating, since I don’t believe in the whole soulmate thing anyway, but all of a sudden Raf is some believer. After not even getting the damn timer for ten years.” Casey spits out bitterly.

“Wow, he only has to wait a week for his soulmate. Lucky.” Sienna looks down at her own timer, which says she’ll see her soulmate in 14 years, at the age of 42.

Sienna has a long term boyfriend, Danny, who’s timer indicates he’ll see his own perfect match in 5 years. Despite being madly in love with Danny, Sienna is a huge believer in the whole soulmate thing, which is preventing her from marrying Danny or having kids like she desperately wants. Casey keeps trying to convince her she’s being an idiot, but Sienna will hear none of it.

Sienna gently brushes a tear from Casey’s face. “I hate to see you so upset Casey.”

“I’ll be okay. I just….really liked him.” Casey returns.

“Cheer up. Your soulmate could get their timer installed any day now. You could be in relationship with your soulmate in a week for all you know!” Sienna tries to comfort.

Casey very seriously doubts that. But she’s sure Rafael will be in a new relationship in a week, which really hurts. Casey sits up, hugging Sienna before heading off to her room so she can be alone. She cries into her pillow until she falls asleep.

…

“I really can’t believe your timer hasn’t turned on.” Casey’s mother, Lisa, gripes. “When am I going to get grand babies?”

Casey rolls her eyes. Why does she subject herself to this torture every month by continuing to visit? “Well, maybe you should have had more kids. Increased your odds.” Casey retorts.

“If back in my day we had the timers, which would have prevented me from ending up with your no good father who ruined marriage forever for me, I would have!” Lisa insists. “Society is really advancing technologically. What a time to be alive!”

“Maybe it’s for the best. My job is super busy anyway. And I really need to focus if I want the chief resident position.” Casey thinks out loud.

“Oh no no no. We’re not letting this break up derail us! You need to get back out there, find a guy without a timer, make him get a timer, repeat until you find the one! So I can have grand babies!” Lisa strategizes.

“One more mention of grand babies and I’m going back to my apartment.” Casey threatens.

“…..Fine.” Lisa reluctantly agrees, setting the table for their monthly mother daughter dinner. “….I just want you to be happy Casey.”

Casey kisses her mother’s cheek before she takes a seat. “I know mom.”

…

“Casey?” She’d recognize that voice anywhere. She winces, debating running out of the coffee shop without her latte to avoid him. But suddenly he’s right in front of her, and it’s too late. 

“Rafael. Hey. It’s been a while.” Casey returns, giving him a forced smile. 

Rafael smiles at her, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “It has. It’s been a crazy few months.”

“How’s your soulmate?” Casey asks. She doesn’t know why she asked that. She doesn’t actually want to hear about her. 

“You know what’s funny? My soulmate is my childhood sweetheart, Sora. We dated before we turned 18, so neither of us had timers. And then she moved away and we lost touch. But she came back to Boston and I ran into her at our families’ church and boom, timers chimed.” Rafael explains. 

“Well, I’m happy for you.” Casey forces out. She’s not. She glances at her wrist again. Still blank. 

“Thanks. Things are going….well. I do still spend a lot of time talking about you though. I guess that will change as me and Sora get to know each other better as adults.” Rafael theorizes. 

“Latte for Casey?” The barista calls, and Casey can barely contain her relief. 

“I’ve gotta get to work, but it was good to see you Raf. Wishing you all the best.” Casey says in parting. 

He reaches out for her arm, but quickly releases her when she responds like his touch has burnt her. “Casey, I still want to be friends.” Rafael pleads. 

Casey lets out a long sigh. “…..I’m not there yet. Maybe when it isn’t so fresh. I really do wish you the best Raf. I meant that.” Casey replies, slipping out the door. 

…

Sienna clutches at Casey’s arm, letting out a huge yawn as the two doctors make their way to the T station from the hospital. “I’m so tired. Why do they make us work so much?!” Sienna complains. 

“They’re trying to kill us. That’s the only explanation.” Casey retorts, chuckling along with Sienna. Suddenly, a chime rings out. Casey furrows her brow in confusion. “What is that?”

Sienna gasps, grabbing Casey’s wrist. “Oh my God Casey! Your timer is turning on! Your soulmate must have finally gotten their’s!” Sienna bounces around excitedly as the two girls freeze on the sidewalk, waiting for it to load. 

Sienna gasps loudly and Casey’s eyes widen when the timer displays ‘5 days, 16 hours, 42 minutes, 5 seconds’.

“Oh my God! We have so much preparing to do! We have to call your mom!” Sienna insists, dragging Casey towards the T station. 

“We are not calling my mom!” Casey immediately replies. 

…

“Casey! It’s today! The first day of the rest of your life!” Sienna exclaims, launching herself on top of the lump in the bed that is Casey. 

“Ughh…it’s so early. Go away.” Casey mumbles, trying to go back to sleep. 

Sienna rips off the covers. “No way Jose. I made a special soulmate day breakfast for you, and then you should get out of here. I doubt your soulmate is destined to meet you in our messy apartment.”

“Why should I get out of here? If this person is really my soulmate, they would somehow find me right here. The plumber is supposed to come by today. Maybe that’s my soulmate.” Casey retorts sarcastically. 

Casey can’t believe Sienna actually believes in this soulmate nonsense. The timer company clearly just randomly matches people based on nothing, and then reaps the profits from all their customers forcing a relationship with their so-called soulmate. Casey wouldn’t be surprised if they leave some timers blank on purpose, as a marketing ploy so those desperate singles will convince others to get a timer. 

“Ughh, why are you such a cynic? Some girls would kill to be meeting their soulmate today, you know.” Sienna fires back, irritation slipping into her tone. Casey has been nothing but negative over the past five days. 

“You’ve met your soulmate. It’s Danny. Who’s madly in love with you, and who you love too, but you’re letting some stupid timer dictate your life.” Casey replies, irritation evident in her tone too. 

Sienna sighs, now just seeming sad instead of frustrated. “Casey, please. Just give this a chance. For me?” 

Casey sits up. “Fine. For you. So, what do you want me to wear?”

…

An hour later, Casey is dressed in a pretty sundress reading a book in the Boston Public Library. She figured this would be a good place to meet her soulmate. It could indicate he’s smart, that he likes to read. Or that he’s homeless, Casey realizes when she notices the many homeless people patronizing the library. Well, if a homeless person spent $250 getting the timer installed, they would at least be looking for serious commitment. 

“Excuse me, we’re sorry, but the library is about to close for a private event.” A librarian informs her. 

Casey puts her book back on the stacks where she found it. She steps out of the library and looks around, trying to decide what to do for the next….she checks her wrist…1 hour, 20 minutes, and 3 seconds.

She spots a hot dog food truck parked by Copley Square, and makes her way over. She could eat, and it will kill some time. After she eats, she starts wandering towards Boston Commons. That could also be a good place to meet her soulmate. Maybe he’ll be outdoorsy. 

Her stomach lets out a loud rumble, and Casey freezes. No. There’s no way this is happening right now. She tentatively takes another step, accompanied with extreme stomach pain and the strongest urge to find a toilet Casey has ever felt. 

“Really?! Food poisoning?! God damn truck hot dog.” Casey complains to the universe. She trails off into a pained groan, and she clutches her stomach as she heads to the closest building with hopefully a public bathroom. 

Casey is surprised that the closest building is a dirty looking dive bar, that’s open and busy at 10:00 AM for some unknown reason. She doesn’t have time to be picky though, and she rushes past the bar patrons in search of the restroom. 

Casey lets out a sigh of relief to find it unoccupied, and collapses onto the toilet. What follows…..it’s not pretty.

When Casey finally feels like there’s nothing else left to come out of her body almost half an hour later, she checks her wrist. 

Her eyes widen in alarm. 2 minutes….34 seconds!

She has to get out of here. She can’t meet her soulmate in some dark and dingy dive bar at 10:30 in the morning. What is he, some kind of alcoholic?

Casey cleans herself up as best she can in a rush before leaving the bathroom. 

“Excuse me…behind you….just trying to squeeze through.” She mutters as she tries to reach the door leading out of this seedy establishment. She’s so close, and yet so far. 

She clears her way through a large man and his extremely drunk companion, and bumps right into a broad chest. 

“Oof.” Casey lets out, raising her gaze. 

Her timer, and the timer of the handsome stranger in front of her, chime simultaneously as they reach 0 on the countdown. 

He looks at his wrist, then at her, back at his wrist, and then to her again as a hesitant smile grows across his face. “….Hi.” He greets. 

“….Hey.” Casey returns, uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden. 

“Can I get you a drink…..?” She realizes he’s waiting for her name. 

“Casey. Casey Valentine.” She supplies. 

“Casey. That’s pretty.” He compliments, and she feels a slight blush come on from the simple praise. “Bryce Lahela. Nice to meet you, soulmate.”

…

Bryce orders a mimosa for her, and a hard cider for himself. He places his suit jacket across his lap as they wait on the bar stools. 

“So….why are you wearing half a suit?” Casey questions.

“Is it too much? I told Keiki it was too much. She actually tried to talk me into a tux though, so this was me taking it down a notch.” Bryce explains hurriedly, and Casey can’t help but smile at how flustered he seems. “I just….wanted to make a good first impression. It’s not every day you meet your soulmate.” He concludes, smiling at her. Her heart skips a beat when he looks at her like that. 

“But you’ve decided the jacket is too dressed up for such a fine establishment?” Casey teases. 

He smiles at her again, and she realizes he could probably get her to do anything with that smile. “I was out in Boston Commons, seemed like a good place to meet my soulmate. But then a bird pooped on my jacket. So I rushed in here, hoping to have time to get it cleaned up and back outside before the timer went off, but…” He trails off, shrugging. “And what brings you to this fine establishment?” He wonders. 

“I was on my way to Boston Commons, when a hot dog I consumed earlier tried to kill me. So in my food poisoning induced panic, I stumbled my way in here. I’m not normally the type to hang out in dive bars at 11:00 in the morning.”

“Good to know. You definitely come off as more of a brunch girl.” Bryce returns, playfully bumping her shoulder with his own. “Are you feeling better? Let’s get you hydrated with some water. Doctor’s orders.” Bryce waves down the bartender. 

“You’re a doctor?” Casey questions. 

“Surgical resident at Mass Kenmore. You’ve really hit the jackpot here Casey.” Bryce teases. 

She rolls her eyes, but she can’t help but smile fondly. “I’m also a doctor. Internal medicine resident at Edenbrook,”

Bryce leans his head onto his hand as he gazes at her with his beautiful brown eyes. “Wow, beautiful and smart. Had I known this timer would bring me to you, I would have gotten it sooner.” He flirts. 

“Why did you wait so long? Do you not believe in this whole soulmate thing?” Casey questions, sipping on her mimosa as the bartender sets down their drinks. 

Bryce sips his hard cider, gazing at her over the rim of the glass. “I didn’t. But I’m starting to.” He responds. 

“Are you always this flirty?” Casey wonders, leaning closer to him instinctively. 

“That depends. Do you find it endearing or irritating?” He quips. 

Casey laughs. She hasn’t laughed this much in a while. “I haven’t decided.” She replies after thinking about it for a moment. 

Bryce smirks at that, finishing his drink and signaling for another before he answers her question fully. “I’m not a big believer in the whole soulmate thing. And money was really tight for awhile, so I couldn’t justify spending $250 on what I’m pretty sure is actually a government tracker. But recently, my little sister Keiki moved in with me and she talked me into getting the timer. I think she mostly wants me to have a girlfriend so she has someone to hang out with in Boston. But she also started guilt tripping me, saying there was some poor girl out there with a blank timer because of me. Sorry about that. Did I keep you waiting long?”

Casey shrugs. “I’ve had the timer since my 18th birthday. My mom threw the whole timer reveal party and everything.” 

“God, that’s a blast from the past. I used to hate going to those.” Bryce interjects. 

“Me too. It’s even more miserable when it’s your party. My mom was so devastated when my timer didn’t turn on. I thought it was hilarious.”

Bryce laughs, shaking his head. “My mom definitely would have thrown me a timer reveal party, but I ran away from home before I was 18. Ergo why money was so tight.” Bryce reveals. 

Casey nods, taking that in. Since Bryce is being so open with her, she decides to reciprocate. “I’m not a big believer in the whole soulmate thing either, so no need to feel bad. I think they just match us up randomly. It’s all a scam. A scam that’s derailed a lot of promising relationships for me.” Casey confesses. 

“….Do you still think this is a random matching?” Bryce asks tentatively. 

Casey pauses to think before she answers. “I think you’re really attractive.” 

“The feeling is mutual.” Bryce adds. 

“And I think we have chemistry.” She continues. 

Bryce nods in agreement. 

“….but I’d have to get to know you more before I could say I’m convinced you’re my soulmate. If such a thing even exists.” Casey concludes. 

“That’s fair. And don’t worry Casey, I’ll make you fall in love with me in no time.” Bryce states confidently. 

“You don’t need any more convincing about me?” Casey questions. 

“Nah, I’m pretty convinced. And it’s not just the timer Casey. It’s the way that when I saw you for the first time, it felt like……..like I was seeing in color for the first time. Or hearing music for the very first time. I don’t know how to explain it exactly. Love at first sight, I guess.” Bryce answers, and Casey swoons. 

She buries her fingers into his soft hair as she captures his lips. He doesn’t let her take the lead for long, burying one hand in her curls as he pulls her closer and deepens the kiss. 

By the time she pulls away, both of their lips are kiss swollen. “I don’t usually kiss on the first date, you know.” She feels compelled to tell him. 

Bryce smiles, placing a chaste kiss to her lips this time before hugging her to him. “Thanks for making an exception beautiful.”

…

“Hey Casey, have you seen my curling iron? Because I swear-” Sienna walks into Casey’s room without knocking, but freezes when she sees Casey isn’t alone in bed. 

Bryce smiles, pulling up the covers as he sits up to keep his nether regions covered. “Sienna, right? I’ve heard so much about you!” Bryce greets.

Casey yawns, reluctantly opening her eyes. “It’s so early…” She complains. 

“It’s almost 10:30 babe.” Bryce corrects. “But you didn’t get much sleep last night, so it’s understandable that you’re tired.” He murmurs suggestively, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. 

“Uh, hi. Still here.” Sienna reminds the pair. 

Casey sits up, keeping the covers over her bare chest. “Don’t judge me for breaking my 3 dates before sex rule Sienna.” Casey mutters after she yawns.

“I don’t think that applies with your soulmate. I was surprised you didn’t give it up after the first date to be honest.” Sienna replies. 

“She totally would have, if not for the food poisoning.” Bryce insists with a friendly wink.


End file.
